Junk Mails

One of the consequences of living in an HDB flat is that you are bound to receive junk mails. Lots of them - flyers advertising property developers/agents, renovation contractors, handyman services, locksmiths, warehouse sales, plumbers, electricians, installers for windows/grilles, fast food, etc.

Today when I opened my letter box, I found 3 notes inside which were handwritten by different people. They all either wanted to buy or rent my flat. They usually had a sob story to tell, e.g. "I am looking for a flat in this block so that I can stay near my parents who will take care of my children."

And more often than not, they "just sold off their flats or private apartments for $xxxK and willing to pay high $$$." (They always don't know how to spell "price".) To add authenticity to their plea, they usually add, "No agts please."



Usually, I just throw them straight into the dustbin next to the letter box. But today, I brought them up to scan them into a photo for this post.

To rub salt into the wound, there was another piece of junk mail:



Normally I wouldn't consider birthday cards as junk mail. I do receive cards regularly from my insurance agents for my birthdays and festive occasions. However this one arrived more than 10 days late. It is no excuse, especially if they consider me a Priority Banking customer:


You guessed it, the card was from CB. Oh come on, just because I complained against your less-than-satisfactory service and your cocky staff recently, does it mean that you have to treat me this way? And don't give me that crap that the card is 354 days early because it is meant for my next year's birthday, okay? Jisuz...

Confirmed liao. CB really would rather lose a customer like me. Damn CB. I will surely grant you your wish on 16 Jan 2008 when I don't have to pay any penalty for fully redeeming my housing loan.

Finally, this is a "link-love-list" (whatever it means) from Walter. I guess I have been tagged by him for a meme (whatever that means too):

My Add Ons:
Cool Insights
Simply Etel
Chris' Life-As-I-See-It

What it came with:
Good Morning Yesterday
Jblog
Places
eastcoastlife
zynamic-gala
teczcape
simple-america
Little Cozy Corner
A Journey Called Life
Dead Boredom Seeking Freedom
maverick
fishtail
lynnee
Lucia
Doris
Lillian
Ainee
Anonymous
Adam
Toil
Ah Pek
Blank Canvas
Home Office Women
Shoppingmum
PabloPabla’s Whatever
Blueapron
Make$ Money$
Owen of Ugh
Jules is Utterly Geek
Internet. Serious Business
The Sabahan
Critical Thoughts
Blog-Op
Carols Vault
Blog About Your Blog
Monetize Your Blog
Cosmin PTR
Make Money On The Net
Successful Online Money Making
Turn One Pound Into One Million$
Work at Home Blog
Blogging For Beginners
How to earn money online?
Dosh Dosh
Money Money Money
Money Making Quest
Connected Internet
Mike’s Money Making Mission
Time to Budget
Can I Make Big Money Online
Blogtrepreneur
Flee the Cube
Blogging Secret
Blogging to Fame
Million Dollar Experiment heads Down
Quest to make money on the internet
Kumiko’s Cash Quest
Calico Monkey
Internet Bazaar
Shotgun Marketing
bizsolutionsplus
Customers Rock!
BrandSizzle
Being Peter Kim
Pow! Right Between The Eyes!
Billions With Zero Knowledge
Working at Home on the Internet
MapleLeaf 2.0
Two Hat Marketing
darrenbarefoot.com
The Emerging Brand
The Branding Blog
CrapHammer
Drew’s Marketing Minute
Golden Practices
Viaspire
Tell Ten Friends
Flooring the Consumer
Kinetic Ideas
Unconventional Thinking
Buzzoodle
NewsPaperGrl
The Copywriting Maven
Hee-Haw Marketing
Scott Burkett’s Pothole on the Infobahn
Multi-Cult Classics
Logic + Emotion
Branding & Marketing
Popcorn n Roses
On Influence & Automation
Bullshitobserver
Servant of Chaos
converstations
eSoup
Presentation Zen
Dmitry Linkov
aialone
John Wagner
Nick Rice
CKs Blog
Design Sojourn
Frozen Puck
The Sartorialist
Small Surfaces
Africa Unchained
Perspective
gDiapers
Marketing Nirvana
Bob Sutton¡
Shut Up and Drink the Kool-Aid!
Women, Art, Life: Weaving It All Together
Community Guy
Social Media on the fly

5 Bloggers I'd Rather Be Stranded With

I was tagged by Jayne to do this post. Her tag was "If you had to live on a deserted island for a year, which 5 bloggers would you bring with you and why?"

Here are the 5 bloggers whom I'd rather be stranded with:

1. Chris

It is obvious why Chris is first on the list. He is my good friend and colleague. Besides being good at cooking and housekeeping, Chris can also compose very nice poems. I presume that he will not have the luxury of his newly bought laptop with him on the island so blogging the poems would be a real problem for him. In any case, the laptop battery would last at most 3 hours on the island and I don't think the deserted island will have hotspots. Yes, hot spots there would be plenty on a tropical island, but not hotspots. Still it should be okay because Chris can write his poems in the sand on the beach. And if he uses a stick to do this, he may not even need to bend down very much, even though the stick may not be very long.

2. Elaine

Elaine is my blogo-god-daughter. What kind of godfather am I if I do not bring her along to live with me on the deserted island? I know it is cruel to do this to her and her sweetheart (another Victor) because it means that they would be separated from each other for one whole year. But hey, they say that absence makes the heart grows fonder. Besides, there is another stand-in Victor to take his place, hehe. Think about it - if a relationship can't last one year's separation, how can it last more than 5 decades in marriage together? Elaine can bake for us during her free time (which means all daylight hours on the deserted island). Talking about that, I better go hunt for a solar-powered oven for Elaine because the island is not expected to have electricity supply.

3. Chun See

You must be surprised why I choose Chun See. Most of the time, he is dead serious. But actually, he can joke if he wants to, although he rarely does it. Best of all, when he does, you won't even know whether he's joking or not. I guess that's why his children say his jokes are lame. Chun See is best loved for his grandfather yesterday's stories. He can tell his stories all day. The best part is that we would have all day to listen to him. In fact, he is so good at telling old-time stories that it feels as if you are experiencing it for yourself. You could almost smell the stench from the Sei Gai Hor (Dead Chicken Canal), as he so vividly describes it. Lastly, Chun See is badly wanted because he has to go catch that wild rabbit to be cooked as lunch in Elaine's solar-powered oven. Because it's his turn to buy lunch... oops. The next meal after the rabbit will be fruits. With Chun See's Jungle Survival Training as an SAF Officer, he can tell us which fruits are poisonous and which are safe to eat.

4. Walter

Walter is an "experienced marketer and publicist", or so he says in his blog. Good, his skills will come in handy on the deserted island. He can hypothesize all he wants on how to bring more visitors to the deserted island so that we won't be so lonely. He can suggest ways to skin and cook the rabbit, making it more appealing and appetizing. And if we have trouble sleeping during cold and windy nights, we can read his many theses on marketing.

5. Jayne

How can I not bring Jayne along to suffer along with us? Being the woman that she is, she can roar all she wants on the deserted island. We just need to plug our ears with some dried leaves or mud because like her, we also like to hear pleasant things. If we are bored, she can entertain us with a circus act using fruits. If we need more, she can teach us how to turn the fruits into toys which would please us to no end. In fact, we might even feel that one year is too short.

As for me, I will just lie under a coconut tree all day long, wondering why the fruits are so small.

Muahahaha.

Disclaimer: All of the above are tongue-in-cheek and not knife-in-back comments. Take them with a pinch of salt or not at all. If you feel sore, go apply some ointment. Or go to a deserted island to destress.